The Forrest City times., 1887-11-05
WHAT ENGLAND THINKS OF US.
A Review Of American History by
 the Leading British Journal.

"A
 the Leading British Journal.
 The centenary festival now being beid at Philadelphia, says Ths Leaaloa Tipses, is of DO ordlnary kiud. It commemorates the birthday Of nation which has already won its way to a foremost place among the great nations of the world. and to whose future development in strength and wealth aud numbers no limit whatever can De assigned. II is just one hun dfed years to-day since the written eonstitu lion of United States of America was signed bv the delerstes st Philadelphia. and since the thirteen original states of the un on were bound together by a federal tie which has never been broken and which su5zists stiii, the symbol and safeguard Of a common ns- ttonai life. This Is the event, unprecedented in the worlds history, which the American people have now met to commemorate. They look back to it with an enthusiasm which we can well understand, and which comma is our full sympathy Their constitution has made them what they arc. sIt found them a handful of small states, united in name only, and without the reality of a eo,"uoa govern meut. IL made them a nation, and thus s'a'E cd them on a career of progress which has continued ever since, and which no cheeks or Interruptions by the way have brought to stsndsiill. The history of the United States during the past hundred years has been one long record of growth and expansion, and of final triumph over difficulties and obstacles Of no slight magnitude. Tue thirteen states have been increased to thirty eight, holding territory moro than ten times It's origiud! ex- tent. aud including population more than twenty times as numerous as that in whose name the constitution was first signed. He national unity has been sorely tried by rebel Lon and by civil war, but 1t has borne the strain and has been maintained still unbrok- en. The great change has been that tlse taint of slavery, which attached to the original com stitutlou, has been now fir ally washed out and that America has become, what she was not in I7s7, free country for all, without distinction of race or color or parentage. A hundred years is no long time in the history of . nation. but 1t has been long enough to bring the United States Into the front rank, end to give spect and promise of an indefinite further advance The Uaited States, as we know them, have been the product of one century Their future destiny we will leave to native orators, who can hardly go beyond the truth, fl NC may judge in any degree from the past
 The condition of the United States has been a subject of very general laudatiou in the old and in the new world. It has been pronounc- ed by those who live under 1t to be the perfee- ton of human wisdom, and 1t has been spoken of in terms of almost equal praise by those who have admired 1t from afar MT. Bright writes enthusiastically of 1t. In Mr. Glad stoneis view, 1t is the most wonderful work ever struck of at a given time by the brain and purpose of man. 4 constitution which has served its end needs DO defense, and Is in danger from no attack. But 1t is little
 doubtful whether the constitution of the United States and the far sighted wisdom Of lts authors deserve all that has been said about them. The arrangement made and accepted
 in l7s7 by the assembled delegates at Phila- delphia bears signs throughout of the conIpro mise, which m fnct, 1t was. There were local iealousies to be overcome before any agree ment could be made. The smaller states
 were fearful of being swamped " the larger
 ones, and their delegates, in guarding sgsInst this danger, insisted on precautions which the larger states were not willing 10 grant. More than once in the course of the conference did 1t seem well-high impossible to reconcile the couf cting views and wishes of the delegates from several states, but in some way or other each difficulty, as 1t occurred, was met and finally surmounted. Great patience, good
 sense, and a willingness to give and take were
 the ouslities most needed by those to whom the hard task had been assigned of framing laws for a people whose first wish was to be
 bound by no law but ;beir own But the ex-
 gencies of the situation were imperative. A
 central authority bad to be called into exist encc Rs tE5 essential condition of true
 national life, and those who most dislked IL,
 ana were most unwilling to invest it with the
 -celty of power, were forced at length to fubmlt on pain of tue national disruption which q different course must have
 brfutrht about The work done by the dele
 vates at Philadelphia, however much 1t may
 ,e praised now, was not much praised at the
 tiIne No stale Wss satisfied with 1T, and no
 'ndiyidual member Of st&te. It was adopted and 1t was defended AS the beet result ' ssiO, 0 in the circumstances Ot the case ap.i witt 'his scaut measffc of approval it passed int" law
 The original draft, ss put forsard by the delegates from Virginia, was cut about and altered at the instance of the smaller states. IL was over the formation of the sepste that the contention was most warfn- The agree nlent finally arrived at about the election of congress as it Is well known, was tisat lne states should be represented in the lower house according to their population, but that | u tle senate all should be represented alike. | Each state Nas Co sendtwo senators, and when | this hal been settled, and when the senate, tls 1 of confirming CT rejecting all appointments by the executive chief and all treaties with | foreign countries then, and not tili then did ! the ,iDallcst states feel themselves safe. But, | even SO, matters did not proceed with | universal consent. The rule adopted that ! any u,ue of the thirteen states might vote the l constitution into existence, and that if this | were done the minority must give way, was a l strong measure sayOTiDg of force rather than
 Of free consent. It was no dead letter, for il wss applied O compel Rhode Island and south Carolina 10 join the union against their owu | wishes and protests. IaHt0 naOtis eydt coHdsr' gsstfc,n. So hard task was 1t, aud so rough ! the methods required 10 bring the United l States into being. SiRYcry, we have said, was recognized by the original constitution ! The dave states were allowed to reckon three l ffihs Of tlIeir slave population to make uf 1 rhe members according to which they were tC | have representatives in the lower house, and Il agreed further, iu deierence 10 their wishes, 1 that ihe slave trade WAS 10 continue ior twen- | Y years But from the day on which ths
 constitution became law, state sovereignty
 vas sn end. The will of tue majority was made supreme. for the constitution was dc i ci4'rd open to unlimited amendment by two | ,fris of each house Of congress and ffy three
 tou ths of ihe states, 4 provisional surrender
 oi this kind Is simply faial to tbe theory ol
 tate sovereignty. The theory 1t IS true sur l lived, but t has never been carried out II ia 4, gns with the close of the great c VI war
 | may be looked upon as absolutely extin l guished.
 gu. although the states are bound by tho | coustitution, tho limit of their obligation | ! no ieas certainly fixed by it. Ibe separate | states of the uni0n enjoy all rights oi sell | government except those which have been e1 l pressiY taken away from them The fedora l government nas such powers as the cohstitu l ton has expressly conferred upon fl, and It !
 unable to stretch theRI iu sny direction ! Every law passed by the central auihorit ! comes at once under the jur.sd dctou ot th suprealc court, and fl f. Is pronounced to b unconstitutional, ft s thereby made null ant ! yoii. This is seen fltv for sueh local inGepeiI ceuce as states are intended tO enjoy. Soysr ! eign states they not, and can not sie wliil | they remain members Of thc union. But iae | have rights which can noi be inlringed, ai'
 the same court which kecls Them within tn ' limits of the coastitut0B, is no less careful f
 maintain them in the measure of iEdepen I dence which remains 10 iien. The c0nstjtu | iion has been a compromise throughout am
 In no way more clearly or moro usefuliy lhal
 In the rcconcemeut which it has effected be
 tween national aud local claims.